Dispensing device for paste tubes having a pressure element and pivoted closure which cuts the paste



April 6, 1954 G. E. KUNZ DISPENSING DEVICE FOR PASTE TUBES HAVING A PRESSURE ELEMENT AND PIVOTED CLOSURE WHICH CUTS THE PASTE Filed Oct. 19, 1950 31 as so 28 p5 32 I /u I ,;r--- I FA L 1 23 o 24 A. A

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I 4. 4 \\\\\\\\ER\\\\\\\\ 23 23 INVENTOR 5 5 Georges E. Kunl Patented Apr. 6, 1954 2,674,392 OFFICE DISPENSING DEVICE FOR PAST-E TUBES HAVING A PRESSURE ELEMENT AND PIVOTED CLOSURE WHICH CUTS THE PASTE Georges E. Kunz, Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Application October 19, 1950, Serial No. 190,929

7 Claims. 1

My invention relates to dispensing devices for discharging paste or similar soft, fiowable materials from deformable tube containers.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved dispensing device for paste tubes which is "adapted to expel substantially all of the paste contents of a tube with substantially no waste of the material.

Another object of my invention is to :provide an improved dispensing device for paste tubes Which .is equally usable with tubes of different lengths, diameters, and size of discharge nozzles.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved dispensing device for paste tubes which is formed with a discharge nozzle and an arrangement for .efiiciently cutting paste which is discharged through the nozzle and sealing the opening in the nozzle.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved dispensing device for paste tubes having an attractive appearance and constructed to facilitate storage of the paste tube.

Further objects and advantages of my inven tion will become apparent and my invention will be better understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing and the features of novelty which characterizes my invention will :be pointed out with particularity in the claims appended to and-forming a part of this invention.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I :provide a supporting frame in which a paste tube may readily be secured, and provide a pressure element for efficiently discharging paste or other :soft material, such as tooth paste, shaving cream, and similar materials, from the tube. A nozzle is formed in the frame in order to provide for efliciently discharging the paste, and a gate member is provided for efficiently cutting off the material discharged from the nozzle and for sealing the nozzle opening.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a dispensing device including an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line '2-2 of Fig. 3 with the paste tube shown inelevation;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the dispensing device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the nozzle end of the device shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. .5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. l with the pressure arm shown pivoted in the upper position.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown a dispensing device for discharging paste and other similar soft flowable materials from deformable tubes. This .devicemay be formed of anysuitable material. The major supporting and operating elements maybe made of plastic to provide alight Weight construction, and preferably are formed of a transparent or translucent ,plastic material which will enable a user to determine readily the amount of material which remains in a tube of paste in the device. The use of such material for the frame of the device also has the advantage of enabling a user to see immediately the kind and brand of paste in the device. It, thus, provides for easy visual observation of the paste tube for determining if it contains tooth paste, shaving cream, or other paste, as well as the brand of the paste as designated on the outside of the tube.

The dispensing device include a main supporting frame I formed with a longitudinally extending back 2 and two interconnected sides 3 extending longitudinally along each side of the back and terminating in a pair of supporting legs 4 at the forward end thereof and a pair of supporting legs 5 at the other end. In order to mount a paste tube .in the frame I, an adjustable clamping bracket is provided for securing the sealed end of the paste tube within the frame. This clamping bracket includes a plate element 6 formed with a recess 1 and a lip 8 along one edge thereof. The conventional paste tube is formed with an inturned or lapped-over seam at its sealed end, such that when a tube is placed within the frame the seam can be readily inserted into the recess 1 with the lip 8 in engagement with the tube edge thereof for mounting the tube in position within the supporting frame. In order to secure the clamping bracket plate 6 to the frame, a suitable clamping screw 9 is provided which extends through a longitudinally disposed slot II] in the back 2 of the frame to provide for longitudinal adjustment of the clamping bracket for tubes of different lengths and threadedly engages the bracket plate 6 so as to clamp it against the under side of the back of the frame, thus adjustably securing the sealed end of a paste tube in position in the frame. In order that clamping screw 9 may readily be grasped for adjustment, it is formed with a smooth annular flange on the under side of the head of the screw which engages a boss ll formed along the edge of the longitudinal slot [0 when the screw is tightened.

'The proper delivery of paste from the dispensing device is facilitated by providingthe frame I with a dispensing nozzle 12 with a passage I 3 therein, and formed with a conical or tapered seat M for the reception of the delivery neck l5 of a paste tube I6, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 2. The longitudinally adjustable clamping bracket provides for the reception and secure mounting of paste tubes of different lengths within the frame I with the delivery neck l5 of the paste tube 6 held in sealing engagement with the seat M on the inner end of the nozzle by adjusting the clamping position of the clamping bracket plate-6 to assure such a position of the tube in the frame. When the tube has been properly positioned within the frame, it may be further secured against displacement by fastening the terminal end 36 of the delivery neck l5 of the tube in sealin contact with the conical or tapered seat M of the dispensing nozzle. The delivery neck of the tube is secured in this position in any suitable manner as by the use of a pair of screw elements i! arranged on opposite sides of the nozzle seat for clamping engagement of the neck of the tube. This feature is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

In order to provide for expelling paste from the tube it, a pressure element formed as an arm 18, having a substantially flat longitudinally extending inner surface l5 and an outwardly curved end 28, is adapted to fit loosely within the frame and substantially to close the open side thereof opposite the back 2 of the frame. To provide for the easy operation of the pressure arm I8, and to assure substantially complete evacuation of paste from a tube mounted in the frame, the pressure arm i8 is pivotally supported on the frame I by a pivot pin 2! which extends through journals 22 positioned on the end of the pressure arm 18 opposite its curved end 28. In order to provide for the use of the dispensing device with paste tubes of diiferent diameters and lengths, and in order to assure complete evacuation of material from a paste tube in the device, the pivot pin 2! is pivotally mounted in the frame i for supporting the pressure arm in a plurality of transverse positions. This mounting includes the provision of a pair of pivotal openings 23 interconnected by a transverse slot 2% formed in the frame legs 5 at the end of the frame opposite the nozsle l2. Adjustment of the pressure arm it from a position such as shown in Fig. 1, when a full paste tube is mounted in the device, to a position such as is shown in Fig. 2, when the paste tube has been partially emptied, is facilitated by forming the ends 25 of the pivot pin 2! with two substantially parallel flat sides separated by a distance slightly less than the width of the transverse slots 24, such that the ends 25 have an easy sliding fit in these slots. he parallel of the ends 25 extend substantially parallel to the inner surface iii of the pressure arm it such that when the pressure arm is in engagement with a paste tube the parallel sides of the ends 25 are at an angle approximating a right angle to the transverse slots 25, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This construction and arrangement of the pivotal mountingof the pressure arm. 58 provides for its easy transfer between its outer position, shown in Fig. 1, and its inner position, shown in Figs. 2 and 5. Such transfer of position can be made from either position to the other by simply pivoting the pressure arm Hi to substantially right angles to the frame I, such that the parallel sides of the ends 25 of the pivot pin 2! are parallel and in alignment with the sides of the slot 25, sliding the pivot pin 2! to its inner or outer position in the openings 23 as desired, and pivoting the pressure arm it to its operable position substantially parallel to the back 2 of the frame. Curved sides of the pivot pin ends 25 intermediate the parallel sides provide supporting surfaces for the pivot pin and the pressure arm on the surfaces of the openings 23. The pressure arm I8 is resiliently biased toward the back 2 of the frame by a coil spring 28 so as to maintain the surface :9 of the pressure arm l 8 in engagement with the side of the paste tube it and thereby biasing the pressure arm constantly into operative position.

In order to aid in maintaining the nozzle l2 substantially clean of paste and to prevent drying up of the paste in the nozzle 12 and in the neck I5 of the paste tube, a nozzle gate member 21 is provided which is adapted to seal the opening 13 of the nozzle l2 when the gate 21 is in closed position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The nozzle gate is provided with an operating arm 28 which extends over the nozzle 12 and the back 2 of the frame and is pivotally mounted on the frame by a pivotal support, including a pivot pin 29 which engages tabs 30 formed on the sides of the arm 28 intermediate the ends thereof, and which is journaled in a boss 3| on the back 2 of the frame I. The nozzle gate 21 is adapted to be resiliently biased into closed position over the nozzle opening I3 by a spring 32, which may suitably take the form of a leaf spring arranged between the outer end of the arm 28 and the back 2 of the frame. A ti ht closure of the nozzle is assured by forming the inner side 33 of the nozzle gate 21 on a curve formed on a center corresponding substantially to the axis of the pivot pin support 29 and by providing a curved outer surface 34 for the nozzle !2 also formed on a center corresponding substantially to the axis of the pivot pin support 29, thus providing a complementary surface to the gate curved inner surface 33. In dispensing devices of this type it is desirable that the paste delivered by the nozzle should be cut off by a definite cutting edge when a sufficient amount of paste has been delivered in order to minimize waste and to prevent the adherence of paste to the nozzle. This action is efliciently provided in my dispensing device by forming a cut-off lip 35 on the outer edge of the nozzle gate 21 for cutting paste discharged through the nozzle [2 when gate 21 is moved from an open position as shown in Fig. 2 to a closed position as shown in Figs. 1 and a. The arrangement of the pressure arm l8 on the underside of the back 2 of the frame I and the nozzle gate operating arm 28 above the back 2 of the frame I facilitates convenient use of the dispensing device, as when these two elements of the device are pressed toward each other in a users hand, paste is adapted to be expelled through the nozzle of the device and when pressure is released by the users hand on the pressure arm la, the pressure also is normally simultaneously released on the operating arm 28 of the nozzle gate so that the nozzle gate 21 is moved to its closed position, thereby cutting off the supply of paste and sealing the nozzle opening. This minimizes wastage of the paste and inherently provides for maintaining a clean dispensingdevice.

While I have illustrated and described a particular embodiment of my invention, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that my invention is not to be limited to the particular details disclosed and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in these claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame, a dispensing nozzle on said frame, clamping means for mounting a paste tube delivery neck in substantially sealing engagement with said nozzle, means including a nozzle gate member for sealing said nozzle when in closed position and for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle, said gate havin a pivotal support on said frame, resilient means for biasing said gate to closed position, and means including a pressure arm pivotally supported on said frame for applying pressure against the paste tube to expel paste therefrom through said nozzle.

2. A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame, a dispensing nozzle on said frame, means for mounting a paste tube delivery neck in substantially sealing engagement with said nozzle, means including a nozzle gate member for sealing said nozzle when in closed position and for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle, means including a pressure arm pivotally supported on said frame for applying pressure against the paste tube to expel paste therefrom through said nozzle, and means for pivotally supporting said pressure arm on said frame adjacent the end thereof opposite said nozzle in a plurality of transversely adjustable positions.

A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame, means including a longitudinally adjustable clamping bracket positioned adjacent one end of said frame and formin with said frame a clamping recess for securing the sealed end of a paste tube within said frame, a dispensing nozzle formed for reception of the delivery neck of a paste tube, and means including a nozzle gate member operably mounted on said device for sealing said nozzle when in closed position and a cut-off lip on said gate for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle.

4. A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame formed with a longitudinally extending back and two interconnected sides, means including a longitudinally adjustfl able clamping bracket adjacent one end of said frame for securing the sealed end of a paste tube within said frame, a dispensing nozzle formed for reception of the delivery neck of a paste tube, means including elements on opposite sides of said nozzle for clamping the tube delivery neck in substantially sealin engagement with said nozzle, and means including a nozzle gate member for sealing said nozzle when in closed position and a cut-01f lip on said gate for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle, means including a pressure arm adapted to fit loosely within said frame and substantially to close the side thereof opposite said back for applying pressure against the paste tube to expel paste therefrom through said nozzle, and means for pivotally supporting an end of said pressure arm on said frame.

5. A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame formed with a longitudinally extending back, means including a clampin bracket adjacent one end of said frame for securing the sealed end of a paste tube within said frame, a pressure arm adapted to fit loosely within said frame and substantially to close the side thereof opposite said back, means for pivotally supporting an end of said pressure arm in a plurality of different transverse positions on said frame, a dispensing nozzle with an opening therein and formed for reception of the delivery sides, means including a clamping bracket adjacent one end of said frame for securing the sealed end of a paste tube within said frame, a pressure arm adapted to fit loosely within said frame and substantially to close the side thereof opposite said back, means for pivotally supporting an end of said pressure arm in a plurality of different transverse positions on said frame, a dispensing nozzle with an opening therein and formed for reception of the delivery neck of a paste tube, means for clamping the tube in substantially sealing engagement with said nozzle, means including a nozzle gate member for sealing the opening in said nozzle when in closed position and for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle, said gate having an operating arm and a pivotal support on said frame intermediate the ends of said operating arm, and resilient means for biasing said gate to closed position.

7. A dispensing device for paste tubes including a supporting frame formed with a longitudinally extending back and two interconnected sides and having supporting legs extending toward the open side of said frame opposite said back, means including a longitudinally adjustable clamping bracket adjacent one end of said frame for securing the sealed end of a paste tub within said frame, a pressure arm formed with a substantially flat inner surface and an outwardly curved end and adapted to fit loosely within said frame and substantially to close the side thereof 0pposite said back, means for pivotally supporting the end of said pressure arm opposite said curved end thereof on said frame in a plurality of transversely adjustable positions, resilient means for biasing said pressure arm toward said back of said frame, a dispensing nozzle with an opening therein and formed with a seat for reception of the delivery neck of a paste tube, means including a pair of screw elements on opposite sides of said nozzle seat for clamping the tube delivery neck in substantially sealing engagement with the inner end of said nozzle, means including a '3 nozzle gate member having a curved inner surface for sealing the opening in said nozzle when in closed position and a cut-off lip along the outer edge thereof for cutting paste discharged through said nozzle, said gate having an operating arm and a pivotal support on said frame intermediate the ends of said operating arm, said curved inner surface of said gate being formed on a center corresponding substantially to the axis of said pivotal sup-port, resilient means including a spring between said operating arm and said frame for biasing said gate to closed position, and said nozzle having a curved outer surface formed on a center corresponding substantially to the axis of said pivotal support for said nozzle gate for providing a surface complementary to said gates curved inner surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 951,101 Clarke Mar. 8, 1910 1,346,504 Mathison July 13, 1920 1,432,644 Uber Oct. 17, 1922 1,742,536 Hausberg Jan. 7, 1930 1,820,667 Leyes Aug. 25. 1931 1,917,366 Gusdorf July 11, 1933 2,168,080 Allen Aug. 1, 1939 2,357,544 Prance Sept. 5, 1944 2,379,475 Campfens et a1. July 3, 1945 

